The Last Express

The Last Express is an adventure game from the creator of Prince of Persia and one of the most original titles released in the 1990s. It is July 1914, and American doctor Robert Cath boards the Orient Express bound from Paris to Constantinople, only to find his friend dead right at the start. Instead of investigating as a free agent, Cath must assume his identity, survive the journey, and at the same time get his bearings amid intrigues involving weapons, gold and an approaching war that still only hangs in the air.

The whole game runs in real time. The train follows its timetable, passengers have their own schedules, go to dinner, argue in their compartments and vanish from the corridor regardless of whether the player happens to be watching them. Whoever arrives late misses a conversation; whoever is caught in someone else's compartment has a problem. The player can speed up time and, in case of failure, rewind a few minutes, which turns the playthrough into a gradual refinement of one long journey. Technically it was a Windows title with hand-drawn rotoscoped animation that turned filmed live-action footage into a style close to an Art Nouveau poster; instead of smooth animation it uses a sparser frame rate, giving the game a distinctive theatrical rhythm.

The atmosphere of the train is built with precision, from the noise of the wheels through multiple languages in the dialogue to music that only plays where it belongs. Passengers speak their own languages, and the player often understands only from context, which underscores the sense of a foreign environment and uncertainty. The game came out at a time when the market was dominated by three-dimensional action titles and flopped commercially, even though critics praised it. Over the years it became a textbook example of bold game design, one referenced even by much newer titles built around repeatedly experiencing one contained situation, and thanks to later re-releases it is easily available. Anyone looking for an adventure that doesn't bet on puzzles but on time, places and people will find it right here.